STAR LIBERAL CANDIDATE AT ODDS WITH PARTY LINE

OTTAWA • A star Liberal candidate and environmentalist says it is unlikely any new pipelines will be built under the government’s new project assessment legislation, contradicting a longheld claim by Ottawa that the new regime would not hinder industry expansion plans.

In an interview, Montreal candidate Steven Guilbeault said changes under the controversial Bill C-69, which expanded the review process for major projects like hydro dams and nuclear plants, would likely bar any major new pipelines from being built due to their contribution to higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Bill C-69, dubbed the “no more pipelines bill” by pro-industry groups, calls on regulators to consider the upstream emissions of a project in the context of Canada’s plan to meet its 2030 Paris targets. The new Impact Assessment Act (IAA) became law in June.

“I think that now that we have a real evaluation and impact assessment for projects, we will come to the conclusion that many of these projects are incompatible with the goals we have for 2030,” Guilbeault said.

The comments from Guilbeault, a candidate in the Montreal riding of Laurier— Sainte-marie, runs counter to a claim by the Liberal government that the bill would both account for national greenhouse gas emissions while also allowing for new oil expansion projects. It is part of a broader position taken by Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau since 2015, which espouses that environmental stewardship need not run counter to economic priorities in the fossil fuel industry.

Guilbeault was recruited to run by Gerald Butts, the former principal secretary to Trudeau.